NAM Member James Allison Named One of TIME’s Most Influential

April 26, 2017

Photo courtesy of the University of Houston.

Dr. James Allison, who made pivotal insights to treat cancer by training our immune system instead of attacking the tumor directly, has been named to the 2017 TIME 100. Dr. Allison’s work has led to a transformation in cancer research and has significantly improved patient outcomes.

Dr. Allison was the first person to isolate the T cell receptor protein. This discovery was one of the three most important findings in immunology of the last twenty years. He has also identified with monoclonal antibodies three other crucial proteins and figured out how to switch immune cells on to target malignant tumors, and thus, treat tumors more aggressively than ever before. His strategies for immunotherapy of cancer have shown considerable promise in clinical trials to treat human cancer.

Allison is currently chairman of immunology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He serves as director of the Cancer Research Institute’s Scientific Advisory Council, a position he assumed in 2011. Dr. Allison has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1997 and a member of the NAM since 2007.